Pictures from some random events this past month

Driving to the different cities for youth visits I have found that this is what most of Estonia looks like. . . open fields, patches of trees . . basically, green and beautiful 

Celebrating Margaret's Birthday (Kuldar's wife). We traveled to a summer house next to the largest lake in Eastern Europe.

Grilling at Andrus and Helen's House 

Open House for Albert's 3rd birthday (Kuldar's son)

 Jaanipäev, midsummer day, a national holiday in Estonia.  Lucka and I spent it with Märt and Greta's bible study group. We grilled, had a Bible scavenger hunt, and a flower picking contest which Lucka won.

Youth Group Visits

This summer there will be six English camps and one soccer camp in Estonia. This past week my team and I visited all the youth groups we will be working with. There will be three terms of camp this summer; three camps the first term, and two camps the last two terms.

Pärnu

The first youth group that I will be doing camp with is in Pärnu. Kuldar, Andrus and I will be at this camp together. Upon meeting the team I instantly felt comfortable and at home with them. My team and I  met together for fellowship, to share our vision for camp and discuss and review the details of the camp. It was neat to see their excitement for camp and desire to use it as a tool to grow their youth group.

 After meeting together we headed out in pairs into the town to hand out fliers and invite students to camp.  Despite a sudden downpour everyone continued to walk around until all the fliers were given away. We were on a mission and weren't going to let a 'little' rain stop us.

While walking around one girl stopped me on the street and wanted to know what we were handing out. After I explained a little about the camps I gave her a flier. She smiled and gave us a big hug and then ran for her bus. Her reaction was completely out of blue, but made us smile. I am praying I'll see her at camp.

Prayer Request: That God would bless and encourage the youth through the camp, their desire is to see many students make decisions to follow Christ.  Prayer is also needed for strong relationships with the youth group to be made with the non Christians, ones that can be carried on after camp and through the year.

Rokvere

My team and I traveled to Rokvere last Sunday and ran the Sunday service. Our goal was to share the vision of camp and encourage the whole church to take part in disciplining this summer. They have a strong youth group and we wanted to help get the church to back them up in prayer, financially, and in having a  mission minded summer. It was neat having each person on the team play a part and really function as a body of Christ, each playing their specific role. 

I wont be doing a camp with this city this summer, Johanna and Andrus will be, but I am glad I was able to go and know that my team and I were able to encourage and challenge this church and their sister church.  

After the church service we drove to another city and met with the sister church. K-oma hopes to do an English Camp with them next summer. Samantha and I were asked to share a testimony at the service; why we are here and what God has been teaching us. I was nervous about what to talk about but it came together in the end. I was able to share a little about my experiences with English Camps and how God has been teaching me about His ultimate control in life. 

Kohila 

The second camp I will be a part of is the village of Kohila. The American team that was going to be partnering with them had to back out a month ago. As of right now I will be at camp with Innar, Lucka, Samantha, Amalie, and two girls from the UK. 

This group has had a lot of growth, a few of the students who will be leaders at camp this year became Christians at the English camp last year. One of the boys went from never hearing the Christmas story last year to being a camp leader this year! My team and I were able to visit the group and talk about the details of camp. The group was more reserved, yet seemed eager for camp. We ended the night with a walk that was suppose to take an hour and ended up being two hours. (Estonian hikes and Czech hikes are similar in that way) It was a great time to really get to know some of the youth. The time walking with them helped me connect and excited to meet up with them again for camp.

Prayer Requests: For the youth group to be spiritually and mentally prepared for camps, they are a little frustrated with the location of the camp. Also for all the of 'Americans', there is only 7 of us, at camp to be able to work well and serve the youth group. 

Kuressaare

The third camp I will be working with is a little city on one of the islands of Estonia. My team; Innar, Andrus, Samantha and I took a 12 hour car ride to meet up with the team. The car ride was a great time for the four of us to really connect as a team. We each have different strengths that fill in each other's weaknesses. I really feel like together we will reach the needs of this camp. I am so excited for Kuressaare to be my last camp for the summer. 

Meeting with the group started out rough. We meet in the city's youth center and it wasn't the most inviting and warm environment. After reviewing the details of camp we headed to a park to play One Touch, a modified soccer game. Playing outdoors with the group made everyone feel at ease and we were able to have fun, laugh, and really connect with the students. 

The youth group is very friendly and open. The leadership in the group changed and they are going through a transition period. The youth group is young in age and faith, but willing to learn and desire to pursue the non-Christians at camp. 

Tartu, Estonia

Overdue Introductions

This summer I will be a part of two teams. One is my intern team and the other is K-oma, the Estonian organization that works for Josiah Venture.

Intern Team

Lucka - My team leader and friend. She has worked in Czech for 8 years organizing English Camps. I have known her for five years and she has even stayed with me in the States twice. She has been a blessing to me so far this summer. She is social, lovable and a great source of encouragement.

Samantha - She is from Atlanta, Georgia. She came to Estonia with her church last year to help out with a camp and fell in love with the country. She hopes to move here when she graduates from college. She is the conversation starter on the team, lives a passionate life, and has a heart for ministering to girls.

Johanna- Is an Estonian that is living in Tartu while attending the University. This will be her first time being or working at an English Camp. She has helped our team get familiar with the city and the culture. She is so sweet and easy to talk with. She has a big heart, and is solid and dependable.

Andrus - He was born and raised in Tartu. He became a christian while attending a winter English Camp. He is married and works at his church leading worship. He is the glue to the group. He continually keeps us entertained and honest with each other.

Amalie (pronounced Emily, she is the one located on far right of photo) - She is an American who moved to Estonia with her family 10 years ago, most people consider her Estonian. She spent the last year in Ohio and arrived in Tartu on Monday, June 7th. She is a bubble of energy and brings a lot of life to the group.

K-oma Team 


It is made up of three guys, known around our team as the Three Musketeers,  Märt, Innar, and Kuldar. They oversee JV in Estonia. They are a fun group to work with. You can see their passion for youth in their words and actions. They have a fun sense of humor and have helped our team feel welcomed and accepted.
Innar - Lucka, Samantha, and I are living with Innar and his family while we are in Tartu. I enjoy talking and hanging out with them in their living room. They have made each of us feel at home. Innar's role in K'oma is to help equip the leaders in Estonia.
Märt - He is married and has two young daughters, 3 years and 1 year. He has been with JV the longest and usually does the speaking at churches or events. He helps with church plants, leadership conferences, men's ministry, team building, and English Camps. He joined my team for the amazing race and Intern training in the Czech Republic. He is someone who lives a life for God with reckless abandonment.
Kuldar - He is married and has two young boys, 3 years and 1 year. His family just moved to Tartu and joined JV in September. He focuses on outreach, mostly through soccer programs.

Innar and his wife Siiri with their daughter Evelinda

Mart and his daughter grilling with Kuldar 

Road Trip

Packing up at training was bitter sweet. I was excited to begin living out this summer's mission instead of just talking about it. But I was also a little sad to be leaving Czech and the level of comfort I feel while I am there. My six man team packed all our luggage and crammed into a Toyota ready to begin the long journey before us.

After three stops to fill up on gas, three driver rotations, three accidental detours (two in Poland and one in Latvia), two bathroom stops, one food stop at KFC (Estonians love that place, and it was my first time ever going into one), an amazing thunder and lightning show through Poland, and many moments of delusion and laughter, we finally arrived in Tartu, Estonia. Our 21 hour drive slowly turned into a 25 hour drive. I am just glad to say that I will be flying home from Tartu and not driving the 21 hours back to Czech.

First Impressions

After traveling in and through Austria, Slovakia, Czech, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia I have noticed that every European country has similar road signs, towns, houses, flats, and architecture.There is history and beauty everywhere.

Driving into Estonia I was in awe at how green and beautiful everything was. There are patches of forests and open fields everywhere you look. The big joke is that there are no hills here and everything is flat. There are lots of bodies of water, whether it is a river, lake, or the sea. With that comes a mass amount of mosquitoes. I have gotten really good at killing them.  The weather has not been bad. There is a mix between warm and freezing (at least according to me). Like back at home, the wind makes all the difference.

My home for this summer will be in Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia with a population of a little over 100,000. It is a University town and is filled with young people. The perfect place to start a revival. People here are friendly.

Looking around I would have to say that Estonia is one of the most Americanized European countries I have visited. I have seen a lot of American influence, most people on the street speak English, they like to exercise ( I always see people running, cycling, and playing volleyball), everyone has the newest technology, and they have a sarcastic sense of humor (one that fits me well). The best part about being here is that when they speak English it sounds like they have an Irish accent. Their language, Estonian, is a Finno-Ugrian dialect and is very smooth. They use a lot of vowels and it is easy to read and say. . .  but much harder for me to remember. To the right is a picture of the town square's famous fountain. It is called the kissing fountain. Below is a picture of the church the K-oma team attends and works with. They rent out the second floor on Sunday mornings.The other photo is of a famous bridge in the city. Students have to walk over the arch of the bridge, it is an initiation.

What's to Come 


My team and I have been working at the K-oma office this past week (we were given a room to work in) brainstorming ideas for English Camp. We are in charge of providing English lessons, sports, evening activities, and ice breakers for each of the camps. There will be seven English Camps and one Soccer Camp this summer. This next week we will be visiting each of the youth groups we will be doing camp with.